This album begins with “Deserter,” in which a choir of children singing over a kind of spooky tone. And then a loud rumbling bass and scratching on a guitar. It’s quite different from the previous Siskiyou releases and outpaces the others by several steps.

Once Colin Huebert’s voice kicks in, that familiar Siskiyou sound returns—acoustic guitar and Huebert’s voice which is a mix between a whisper and Win Butler from Arcade Fire. But “Deserter” features backing vocals and, perhaps most surprisingly, a wild baritone sax solo by Colin Stetson. But it stays grounded with that cool rumbling bass line.

The second song “Bank Accounts and Dollar Bills (Give Peace a Chance)” opens with an echoed guitar likes some classic 1990s shoegaze music. The vocals are a cool, intense whisper. The verses are great and then the chorus adds a piano and his vocals rise into an impassioned wail. The third song “Wasted Genius” adds a kind of steel drum sound that includes a great melody to the simple and slightly ominous verses. The middle of the song switches to pummeling drums and a buzzy guitar solo before returning to the mellow verse.

“Violent Motion Pictures” has another cool whispered vocals and quiet guitars that get accented with a low bass and percussion. There’s a neat section of falsetto vocals that remind me of Pink Floyd over a bouncy melody–before it returns to the verses. It’s a wonderfully catchy, if brief, segment. “Jesus in the 70s” has slow guitar lines and atmospheric keys. “Oval Window” is a bouncy folk song (with a slightly creepy vocal over the top), but its even got a folksy kind of guitar line on it.

“Nervous” is a slow ballad. “Imbecile Thoughts” is a fun song with stomping drums. It has a cool ending that leads to the slow building, strings-included nearly 7 minute “Babylonian Proclivities.” The disc ends with the 1 minute “Falling Down the Stairs.”

This album is really fantastic–an overlooked gem from 2015.

[READ: November 8, 2016] Today Will Be Different

I’ve really enjoyed Maria Semple’s books. And this one was no exception.

She really conveys the hectic, overstimulated, over scheduled life of middle age parenting. It helps that her stories are typically set around Seattle and that there’s a lot of excitement, tech and pop culture to throw around, too.

This is the story of a day in the life of Eleanor Flood. Sarah pointed out, as I didn’t quite realize it, that the story takes place in one day (hence the title) although there are flashbacks that flesh out the story too.

Eleanor is, or perhaps “was” is the better verb, an artist. She was lead animator (or something–it’s a little confusing) on the successful show Looper Wash. When the show ended she received an advance to write a book/memoir. That was eight years ago.

Things have been sprialling out of control for Eleanor for a while, but she vows that today will be different. She will make a difference. (more…)